Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs. Samsung Galaxy S II: Smartphone comparison

The Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S II: which smartphone is right for you?

If you've decided that Apple's iPhone 4S isn't for you, you probably want an Android phone instead. For many consumers, Samsung's Galaxy S II, one of the most popular and highly rated Android phones on the market, is the most obvious choice. That was until the Galaxy Nexus arrived.

In our review of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, we described it as the best Android phone ever. But does that mean you should automatically buy it instead of the Galaxy S II? Not necessarily. Let's see how these two powerhouse Android phones stack up, and find out which one is right for you.

Galaxy Nexus vs. Samsung Galaxy S II: Display

The Galaxy Nexus has a strikingly large 4.65in Super AMOLED HD display — one of the biggest screens currently available on the market. The HD points to a high definition resolution of 1280x720; the Galaxy Nexus displays an ultra sharp and crisp image. The screen is bright, vivid and clear and text is crisp and smooth with minimal visible aberrations. The large size of the screen makes the Galaxy Nexus great for video playback but the best benefit of the screen is the experience it creates when reading and Web browsing. Our only complaint is that the automatic brightness setting is often erratic: this should be fixed with a future software update.

The Samsung Galaxy S II on the other hand has a slightly smaller 4.3in Super AMOLED display with a standard resolution of 480x800. The screen is excellent and it's just as bright and vibrant as many other screens on the market. Don't be fooled by the smaller size either: although it's slightly smaller in diameter than the Galaxy Nexus, the Galaxy S II has capacitive buttons below the display, and not on-screen buttons like the Nexus. This means the screen is almost the same size as the Galaxy Nexus and certainly more than large enough for most phone tasks. However, the Galaxy S II's smaller resolution means text appears much crisper on the Galaxy Nexus.

Verdict: There is nothing wrong with the Samsung Galaxy S II's screen, but we have to award the win here to the Galaxy Nexus. The HD resolution makes text crisper than ever, so reading and Web browsing is top notch. It's the best display we've seen on any Android phone.

PCW Evaluation Team

I would recommend this device for families and small businesses who want one safe place to store all their important digital content and a way to easily share it with friends, family, business partners, or customers.

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